Friday, April 16, 2010

Send your #7 jerseys back to the Rooneys

As no charges are being filed against Ben Roethlisberger, the documents from the investigation have become public. A cursory read of The Smoking Gun's summary can really only lead to one conclusion -- Ben bought off this girl's family. He must have.

Emily Best, a dear friend of FTC, has started a movement to get Steelers fans who disapprove of Ben's actions and continued presence on the team to send their #7 jerseys back to the Rooney family. The FTC Editorial Board enthusiastically encourages any and all readers who own Roethlisberger jerseys to sign up and take part.

The police officer who took the initial report from the accuser has resigned.

The NFL Network's Jason LaConfora, who's very good at his job, reported yesterday that the Steelers have internally discussed trading Roethlisberger, and notes that "teams that aren't committed long-term to a starting quarterback include the Rams, Bills, Browns, Raiders, 49ers, Broncos, Panthers, Seahawks and Cardinals. Denver, having just traded for Brady Quinn, is probably not a great possibility, and LaConfora later reported that the Rams are just plain uninterested. Crossing St. Louis off the list probably eliminates any chance the Steelers would have to wind up with the top pick in next week's draft, meaning that they likely won't get a shot at Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford. The Steelers are said to consider Bradford "a sure thing." You can probably also eliminate the Browns from the list, as there's no way the Steelers would deal Ben within the division.

The best fit for a trade would probably be Oakland. The Raiders have the No. 8 pick in the draft. It's also rumored that they offered cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the league's two best, to Philadelphia in a deal for Donovan McNabb before McNabb was shipped to the Redskins. A trade to Oakland, one of the league's more rapey teams, would almost certainly lead to Ben spiraling out of control. When you join Al Davis, you join the Dark Side.

By the same token, the Redskins have a quarterback to trade in Jason Campbell. If the Steelers were to acquire first- and second-round picks for Roethlisberger, they could use one or more of their extra picks to pry Cambell away from the Redskins, who clearly want nothing to do with him. That's unfortunate for them, as the guy really does have the makings of a serviceable, top-12 quarterback.